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night, which she wanted to attribute to lingering anxiety from almost dying due to Cyrus’s venomous claws.  But she knew it wasn’t that.  Her wolf wanted Adam.  Wanted to be in the same place as him, the same room, hell, even the same bed.  Cinder had spent a good portion of the night arguing with the absurd creature about Adam, but all she’d wound up with was a headache from lack of sleep.  She hadn’t been able to nap either.  Before she had met Adam, she would have crawled into bed with Cyrus for a tumble in the sheets, but she couldn’t bring herself to be around him like that anymore.
    When she’d finally given up and decided to get ready for work, she tried to find something in the kitchen to eat, but nothing sounded appetizing.
    Someone knocked loudly on the door.  She answered it and found Solan holding a large paper sack.
    “Adam asked me to bring you lunch.”  He eased past her and set the sack on the counter and busied himself in the kitchen.  Within minutes, he’d set a table for her and left without another word.
    The scent of roasted meat filled the room, and her stomach rumbled.  Sitting down at the table, she looked at the plate that contained a thick steak and a pile of mashed red potatoes.  A glass filled with white grape juice sat next to the plate, along with a small platter containing a wedge of cheesecake topped with strawberries.
    She opened the card with her name on it.
    Cinder, have a good night at work.  Adam.
    Even though she tried to stop it, she couldn’t help but smile.  He was rewarding her, even though she had surely pissed him off by going out with Cyrus instead of meeting him at the restaurant the night before.  When she finished eating the best steak dinner she’d had in years, she cleaned up and headed into work.
    She really did love working at the clinic.  Being a Wiccan meant she was in touch with nature in a way that humans weren’t.  But more than that, being part of the clinic meant she was also helping people, even in a small way, who could be shunned and abused by the human medical establishment.
    As the sun set, she busied herself filling out requisitions for supplies.  Someone rapped on the counter, scaring her.
    Clutching her chest and gasping, she saw Angie, Adam’s sister, looking meek and frightened again.
    “S-sorry, Cinder.”
    “Holy shit, girl, you need to wear a bell or something.”  She willed her pulse to stop racing, inhaling slow, measured breaths.
    Angie placed a narrow black box tied with a red ribbon on the counter.  “Adam would like for you to meet him after work at the alpha’s house.  I’m to drive you there.”
    “Alpha’s house?”  She pulled the ribbon from the box and opened it.  Inside was a howling wolf charm hanging from a delicate necklace.
    “Our pack owns a large parcel of land outside of the city.  Most of the members of our pack live on the land in several large homes.  The largest home is the alpha’s house, where Adam and our family lives, along with the top-ranked wolves.”
    She raised a brow as she slid the lid back on the box, leaving the necklace inside.  “How many wolves are in your pack?”
    “One hundred and three.  We have a few little ones, but most of our members are older than eighteen.”
    “How old are you, Angie?”
    “Eighteen plus five.”
    Cinder inhaled slowly and exhaled, carefully choosing her words.  “No thank you, Angie.  I won’t be joining Adam at the alpha’s house, or anywhere else.  Please thank him for the gift, but I can’t accept it.”
    She slid the box over the counter, and Angie stared at her in shock, with a little bit of fear lighting her pretty features.
    “But–” she panted, fear rising in her eyes.
    “Excuse me?”  Cinder folded her arms and gave her a stern look.
    She closed her mouth and turned on her heels, moving quickly out the front door, leaving the gift behind.  That was interesting .
    As the evening waned and her shift came to an